‘Wangs of Shilin’ deny accepting renewal project

By Mo Yan-chih / Staff reporter

Fri, Aug 17, 2012 - Page 4

In the latest development related to a stalled urban renewal project in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林), the building firm said yesterday that it has obtained the agreement of some members of the Wang (王) family to proceed with construction.

The Wang family — dubbed the “Wangs of Shilin” by the media — owned a two-story building in the area and have rejected the urban renewal project, although the other 38 households adjacent to their property had given their consent.

The family, whose two housing units were torn down in March by the Taipei City Government, has refused to take part in the project and insisted that they will not agree with the project unless the construction firm rebuilds their houses on the site.

The construction firm, Le Young Construction Co, said yesterday in a negotiation meeting that some members of the Wang family agreed to take part in the project, adding that it would continue to communicate with the family and seek their full support for the project.

“We understand the anxiety of residents who take part in the project. The construction is behind schedule. We are trying our best to seek consensus with the Wang family,” the firm’s spokesperson Zou Xue-er (鄒雪娥) said during negotiations at the Taipei City Council.

Wang Yao-teh (王耀德), a member of the Wang family, said he had no knowledge about the decision of other family members, but insisted that his family would not take part in the project.

“My father and I still want to rebuild our house on the original site. We want to go home as much as other residents and we will continue to fight for our rights,” he said.

Wang Yao-teh and his father co-owned one of the two housing units that were torn down in March. The other unit belonged to Wang Yao-teh’s uncle Wang Chia-chun (王家駿).

Wang Chia-chun later denied reaching a consensus with the construction firm, and said he has not spoken with the firm in the past months.

The urban renewal project in Shilin has been stalled for over three years, even after the city government in March tore down housing units owned by the Wang family.

The Wang family and a group of advocates continued to occupy the building site to prevent construction from commencing.